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If digitisation has swept India by storm, the document storage has also jumped on the bandwagon. The government has introduced DigiLocker, a digital locker for storing all your documents. This is part of the Digital India initiative and is set up by the Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DietY), under the Ministry of Communications & IT.

Using this system, you can organize all your important documents in one place. Both you and your family can access it whenever needed. On signing up for a DigiLocker account, you can get 1GB of cloud storage. Using this, you can store documents such as your PAN Card, passport, academic certificates, driving licence, vehicle registration certificates, and other important documents safely.

What is DigiLocker?

A DigiLocker is a cloud storage space which will help you store important documents. This government facility allows you to store documents issued by 37 different issuers. All the documents are stored in a cloud-based application for safe and easy access. You can access these documents only after verification using a One Time Password (OTP). This is usually sent to your registered mobile number linked to your Aadhaar. So, you will need your Aadhaar to open this account.

What documents can you store?

DigiLocker has the facility to store 210 different types of documents currently. The kind of documents that you can hold using a DigiLocker are divided into two. One will include all those issued by the government and the other will be those not issued by the government. Government documents such as e-Aadhaar can be stored in your DigiLocker and also documents uploaded by you such as your education certificates can also be stored. You can also share these documents securely when they are needed for verification by the government or other authorities.

There are 37 issuers and 16 requesters who have currently signed up with DigiLocker.

Every time you sign into the DigiLocker you will be asked to verify using OTP. You can go to the dashboard and choose upload documents to upload your documents. You can also check the documents that have been issued in the digital format and the documents shared. You can upload multiple documents at the same time.

DigiLocker also offers Aadhaar-based e-Signature. Using this, you can self-attest documents digitally. This service is considered to be safe as it requires verification. So, the next time you are short of space on your digital drive, you know where to store your documents.

Use case of Digilocker

Here is one of the examples of the use case of DigiLocker.You already have a DigiLocker account and also the e-Sign. Once you apply online for the PAN, the Income Tax department will raise a request online for documents required for issuing the PAN. You will digitally sign the documents using e-Sign through DigiLocker.Income Tax department will receive the digitally signed documents, and thereafter your PAN will be issued. This will appear in your DigiLocker account under “Digital Documents”.

Similarly, any such issuing agency or a requesting agency like a financial service provider can request for your documents based on Aadhaar. So, instead of sending the physical copies of documents, one can send digitally verified copy in DigiLocker to the requesting agency. Note that the documents can only be requested by the agencies who have registered with the Digital Locker System.